Let's start with the conclusion: the protection of the Balearic lizard has failed; the snake invasion – first detected in Ibiza in 2003 – has been fatal for the most emblematic animal species of the Pitiusas Islands. In Ibiza, the lizard has disappeared from 90% of the territory; it has "two or three years left", according to Dr. Antònia Maria Cirer, a pioneer in the study of this reptile and a leading critic of the protection policies adopted by the Government. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, the Balearic lizard currently appears as a species "in danger of extinction" and in rapid decline, with a "marginal" and "fragmented" population distribution. On the ground, almost any farmer in Ibiza will tell you that for years they haven't seen any of the lizards that, in the past, populated the traditional dry stone walls, a centuries-old symbiosis between humans and these animals.

An investigation led by the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (Creaf) warns that the horseshoe snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis), an invasive snake that already occupies 90% of Ibiza and can swim to the islets, "threatens" to extinguish the Pitiusa lizard (Podarcis pityusensis).

A study led by the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (Creaf) warns that the horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis), an invasive snake that already occupies 90% of Ibiza and can swim to islets, "threatens" to extinguish the Balearic lizard (Podarcis pityusensis).

The GOB has warned that the recent "invasion" of snakes arriving from the mainland in Ibiza and Formentera is putting the Pitiusas lizard, a species endemic to the Balearic Islands, at extreme risk of extinction. Furthermore, they denounced that the efforts of the authorities to control the spread of these snakes, especially the horseshoe snake, are "insufficient" and the lizard's future "looks very bleak."